Labour reaction to Tory local manifesto

Reacting to the launch of the Conservative local manifesto, Councillor Warren Morgan, Leader of the Labour and Co-operative Group, said:

This is a set of populist and un-costed policies that they know they won’t be in a position to deliver. Voters won’t be impressed by a housing strategy that promises ‘better administration of the waiting list’. They want to see positive action to get more council homes built, which is what Labour are committed to doing.

They talk about financial responsibility yet they back the Green Party’s £36m i360 loan and the open-ended commitment to five years of roadworks in Valley Gardens. They talk about a cleaner city, but it is their Conservative-led Government that is cutting over £100 million from the council’s Budget meaning street cleaners are being laid off.

No one doubts that Tory plans for Cityclean are a thinly veiled disguise for privatisation. There is nothing in the manifesto about tackling poverty and homelessness, and nothing on what front-line services they would cut to pay for their promises.

Labour will deliver a council that works for you wherever you live, not just the well-off Tory areas.